Seder Nashim: Yearmos: 1 (Artscroll Mishnah Series) (Hebrew) Hardcover – 1 Dec 1984

The Mishnayot and Talmud are two separate things, and to pick up one copy of the Schottenstein Talmud where they are presented together is like trying to drink water through a fire hose. Also, even just to pick up a Schottenstein (or, really any other English version) is just as bad because the way that the Mishnayot are written is so dense that it's very difficult to extract any usable information out of them.This book takes care of that by separating the Mishnah and Gemarrah and giving a lot of exhaustive commentary to help explain the former.As it happens, the mishnah that I chose to review (Yevamot) is probably the most difficult one and so even though I am progressing through it with artscroll at a glacial rate, if I had chosen to pick up the Schottenstein edition of the Talmud I would not have been able to progressed through it at all.Verdict: This book is worth the price if purchased second-hand. $7.29 as of this writing. It is not worth purchasing new. $26 as of this writing. The best value is if the entire volume of 6 orders is purchased. The set of those can be had for about $470 (free shipping) as of the time of this writing.

If you are really interested in the Mishnah, there is nothing like this Artscroll Mishnah Series. Seder Nashim contains mishnaic commentary on the laws regarding women, and this volume "Yevamos" (pl. for Yibum). "Yibum" is the state into which a childless widow falls, when her husband dies, yet still has living, unmarried brothers. Sadly, the woman is not free to marry whomever she wishes, until released from the state of Yibum. This may seem offensive to many in this age of feminism (which alas seems to be under constant attack), but it part of ancient Jewish law, and therefore has importance still in today's world. It also offers a startling glimpse into the past; yes, we all know that women were oppressed and regarded as property of a "protector" male, yet we do not realize the complex laws worked out in Jewish society to ameliorate this condition, and to regulate it."Yibum" meant that a woman could not marry until she had been refused in marriage by one of the unmarried brothers of her deceased husband (it did not matter which one refused her) in the proper fashion.In the Book of Ruth, this is described very clearly (Ruth 4: 5-8), from the New English Bible: "Then Boaz said, "On the day you acquire the field from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the dead man's wife so as to perpetuate the name of the dead man, with his patrimony." Therefore the next of kin said, "I cannot act for myself, for I should risk losing my own patrimony. You must do my duty as my next of kin. I cannot act. Now in those days when property was exchanged, it was the custom of the man to pull off his sandal and give it to the other party. This was the form of attestation in Israel. So the next of kin said to Boaz, "acquire it for yourself," and pulled off his sandal.""A portal onto another way of life, this is an excellent bok for those willing to study it without prejudice.